MTN Rwanda has scrapped cross-border roaming fee on calls between users in Uganda and Kenya.

Meaning subscribers of MTN Rwanda, MTN Uganda and Kenya’s Safaricom will not switch lines and pay exorbitant fees charged for using a cellphone when visiting the three countries. The three telecom companies have also created airtime top-up cards that work on all the three networks.

The product dubbed: ‘Home and Away’ was launched Wednesday at Kigali Serena Hotel by Eng. Albert Butare, the State minister for infrastructure. Themba Khumalo, the MTN Rwanda chief executive described the scrapping of roaming fees as timely. And, comes when the people of the East African Community see themselves as one.”

“We in the corporate world, especially in this region have asked ourselves; if our clients can see themselves as one, who are we to see our selves as different?” Khumalo said. He urged the private sector to spearhead regional integration.

“I read a sentence, more questions crowd my mind. And one of them is; why is this new wave of integrating our economies a public sector led-one and not a private sector driven-one? Why aren’t we the very ones pushing our governments to sign up customs unions or free up labour mobility across our borders?” he wondered.

”Are we in the private sector riding at the backs of the public sector and yet modern economics dedicates us to be engines of growth of our economies?” He asked.

Inline with government’s vision of turning this nation into an ICT hub by 2020, MTN plans to invest $20 million into the network.

The company is also rolling out fibre optic cable within Kigali city with a view of enhancing broadband internet connectivity in this fast growing city.

Safaricom already offers an East African tariff for calls to MTN Uganda and Vodacom Tanzania subscribers.